In the field of Alexander studies honour is generally considered as what is accorded to Alexander, or whoever else, for some action or quality that marks the individual out as exceptional or unusually meritorious. In F.H. Stewart's scheme this is honour on the vertical axis, but this paper deals rather with honour on the horizontal axis, that is an individual's sense of entitlement to respect as a member of a group or stratum in society, or, as is more relevant here, in the army. The individual claims the right to respect by adhering to a basic, generally unwritten, code of conduct. The professionalisation of the Macedonian army helped to develop the type of group solidarity that surfaced, for example, in the mutinies at the Hyphasis and Opis, and a sense of entitlement to respect that was manifested in numerous episodes concerning individuals and groups, as in the conspiracy of the Pages.

External compulsion makes Polyxena's sacrificial death inescapable. She herself wants to die, but to do so bravely and freely. This, however, is impossible so long as freedom is conceived in material terms. The Stoic ethic, on the other hand, would make sense of her stagey death and her otherwise futile attempt to demonstrate an illusory freedom. The nobility with which she faces her death would then testify to an indestructible moral freedom.

The article attempts to deduce Aristotle's views on religion. The information we have on these views from Aristotle's treatises is incomplete, particularly since he believed that perplexity on issues concerning piety should be resolved by law rather than argument, a view comparable to that of his master Plato. Aristotle's belief in a supreme God is well known, but the article suggests that Aristotle's God is not a 'heavenly narcissist', but exercises some divine providence over the universe. The article looks at the hymn Aristotle wrote on the death of his friend Hermias and suggests possible reasons for the charge of impiety Aristotle faced in relation to that hymn. The article adopts the view that Aristotle believed in personal immortality, and notes that he possessed some respect for Homer and the tradition of Greek religion. He also seems to have given religious significance to the life of philosophical contemplation, for he taught that it was lived in virtue of something divine within us.

This article combines a literary analysis of Medea's dream (A.R. 3.616-35) in terms of Homeric models with a consideration of developments taking place in post-Homeric dream theory. Nausicaa's dream is generally considered the primary influence for this passage, but Medea's psychological characterization owes a great deal more to Penelope and her conflicted emotional state. As an adaptation of Penelope's psychological dilemma, Medea's dream is grounded in the originally Platonic notion that an irrational disposition can cause shameful dreams. The influence of this idea on Apollonius most likely came through a Stoic channel and enabled Medea to be presented negatively in terms of specific irrational passions. Medea's dream should thus not be thought of as inspired by the gods in the strict Homeric sense but as a manifestation of her brewing passion, which enables the gods to intervene indirectly.

One of the fascinating aspects of ancient Greek and Latin lyric poetry is its multiplicity. Having staked his claim as a Roman Alcaeus in the Roman Odes, Horace goes on to prove his absolute mastery over the multiple possibilities of lyric poetry in general in Odes 3.7-12. In this article I would like to illustrate how Horace, at the beginning of Book 3, prepares renewed proof for a lasting monument of lyric poetry (Odes 3.30.1) - a monument based on his mastery of both metrical variety as well as multifaceted content.

The series of papers on the reign of Vespasian (AD 69-79) which appear in this volume of Acta Classica owe their existence to a day-long conference held at the University of Queensland in November 2009. One aim of the conference was to mark the 2000th anniversary of Vespasian's birth in AD 9. A more personal aim for those in attendance was a desire to honour the work of Brian Jones and Bob Milns, whose lifelong interest in Rome's Flavian emperors has greatly influenced many scholars, and in particular those who offered papers on the day. As the day unfolded, discussion centred repeatedly on the ways in which Vespasian presented himself and his sons to the inhabitants of the Empire, and especially to the Senate and people of Rome. It would be no easy task to supersede the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and certainly Vespasian could not rely on armed might alone. His power had to be presented in ways which responded to a variety of tensions and sensibilities. His success in establishing a new dynasty in a difficult environment can hardly be denied, so his management of these tensions deserves credit. In different ways, the six papers which follow may be seen as providing insight into some of these tensions, and into Vespasian's management of them.

In writing an account of the early career of Vespasian, an emperor who secured a good posthumous reputation, Suetonius had to deal with material that could present Vespasian in a poor light, e.g. as a sycophant and collaborator with the worst of the Julio-Claudians and as someone entangled in an embarrassing marriage. Suetonius does not whitewash Vespasian, but seems to follow versions which both distance Vespasian from negative aspects of the Julio-Claudians and emphasise the excellence of his actions. The virtues of the young Vespasian are fully in harmony with those of the later princeps.

Suetonius, in his Vita of Vespasian, gives considerable prominence to Vespasian's wit and humour as a part of that emperor's character and method of dealing with people. The picture that emerges is of an educated man, well versed in the Greek language and literature and capable of witty improvisation in that language. At the same time, his penchant for clever but coarse jokes and his use of down-to-earth humour in his 'unseemly' money-making activities are indicative of his nonaristocratic, bourgeois origins. His idealised Republican prototype and model might well be the Elder Cato.

The citizenship status of Flavia Domitilla, the wife of the emperor Vespasian, has frequently been the subject of scholarly comment, but has never been explained adequately. In his Vitae, Suetonius merely spares a few lines for this unlikely imperial wife, who came from a seemingly obscure and indeed disadvantaged background. Flavia Domitilla is generally regarded as having been a freed woman or born in captivity and is, therefore, an implausible choice of wife for a member of the senatorial order. However, a closer examination of the case indicates that she may well have been freeborn, yet was also born into Junian Latin status. The article draws on legislation regarding Junian Latins in imperial Rome and discusses the legal as well as customary marital prerequisites for Roman senators.

The issue of memory was problematic for Vespasian as founder of the second dynasty of Rome. The Templum Pacis, among the first entirely new structures completed under Vespasian, provided the emperor with a public space within which he could expediently establish public memories of events connected with the beginnings of his rule. Within the templum, the contexts of social memory - place, objects, ritual and textual narrative - were carefully architected and manipulated. This paper will argue that Vespasian used the Templum Pacis to construct a shared memory of the Jewish War and its consequences for Rome and the empire, thereby validating his claim to power.

The Capitoline was important to Vespasian as the first Flavian emperor. On accession, Vespasian was positioning himself in relation to the Roman past and differentiating his regime from the Julio-Claudians, with the main emphasis on establishing his concern for the populace, in contrast to the perceived selfishness of Nero. The temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the first major temple built in the early city, and the destination of Roman triumphs, had been a casualty in the Civil War of AD 68-69, and was rebuilt to highlight his interest in tradition, and to place the Capitolium at the centre of his political programme. The spoils from the Jewish War made possible a great deal of public building elsewhere in the city, including the Forum of Peace and the Colosseum; these buildings reinforced the message about the military success of the Flavians and the benefits they were bringing to the populace.

This paper surveys personifications on Vespasian's coinage in terms of their novelty and significance. It finds that there is more novelty than has been allowed, especially in the proliferation of personifications following Nero's demise and in the number of unprecedented legends. Many of the personifications have a traditional character, so that the overall message seems to be one of continuity with the Augustan model of a 'good' emperor. Finally, among the particular themes which are promoted by the personifications, it seems that there is a fundamental desire to confirm the stability and strength of the succession to Vespasian in the person of his two sons, Titus and Domitian.

The dynamism of etymological studies in general is exemplified by the recent appearance of Marangoni's supplement to Maltby's Lexicon. Marangoni's own contribution is likewise lacunose; in particular Marangoni fails to take proper account of the etymological matter preserved by the scholiastic tradition. Such is especially the case with the scholia to Horace.

This monograph by Tessa Rajak has its origins in six Grinfield lectures (1995-96) on the Septuagint, which dealt with the original, Old Greek texts and their later reception, as well as de novo writings. The intention of these lectures was to relate two fields of research that have unfortunately remained largely separate in the past: the study of Hellenistic Judaism and the study of the Greek Bible. The book's conclusion was construed in the context of a funded research project entitled 'Greek Bible in the Greco-Roman world', a field to which Rajak has contributed in many publications (e.g. as editor of Jewish Perspectives on Hellenistic Rulers. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2007).